Panel assembly

ABSTRACT

A panel assembly having carriers and oblong resiliently deformable panels extending from said carriers. Holding means are provided offering a three-point support for each panel, each of said holding means comprising two support members, one of said support members being a snap-locking member. Each panel comprises a profiled portion co-operating with said snap-locking member by snap-action, said panels projecting with a free portion beyond the holding means.

United States Patent 1 1 Van Der Sluys PANEL ASSEMBLY Inventor: Gerrit Van Der Sluys, Rotterdam,

Netherlands Assignee: Hunter Douglas International N.V., Willemstad, Curacao, Netherlands Antilles Filed: Nov. 8, 1971.

App]. No.: 196,839

Related US. Application Data Continuation of Ser. No. 882,452, Dec. 5, 1969, abandoned.

US. Cl. 52/473, 52/664 Int. Cl E06b 7/08, E04f 10/08 Field 01' Search 52/473, 482, 484, 52/494, 497, 664, 668, 667, 669, 222, 506, 507, 474, 478, 522, 74, 78

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Mart 52/473 1451 Sept. 4, 1973 2,602,971 7/1952 Shaw 52/473 2,905,286 9/1959 Adams et a1 52/473 X 3,063,520 11/1962 Freeman 52/497 X 3,248,837 5/1966 Newell et a1 52/669 X 3,291,978 12/1966 Greenberg et a]. 52/664 X Primary ExaminerPrice C. Faw, Jr. Attorney-Stevens, Davis, Miller & Mosher [57] ABSTRACT A panel assembly having carriers and oblong resiliently deformable panels extending from said carriers. Holding means are provided offering a three-point support for each panel, each of said holding means comprising two support members, one of said support members being a snap-locking member. Each panel comprises a profiled portion co-operating with said snap-locking member by snap-action, said panels projecting with a free portion beyond the holding means.

7 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures PANEL ASSEMBLY This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 882,452, filed Dec. 5, 1969, now abandoned.

This invention relates to panel assemblies comprising a pluralty of carriers provided with panel holding means offering at least three points of support for each panel and oblong resiliently deformable panels extending at an angle relative to the plane through said carriers and projecting with a free portion beyond said holding means.

The panel assembly according to this invention presents a number of advantages. Among other things it offers the possibility of an economical and simple manufacture and in addition very simple assembling and disassembling. In particular when used as a wall cladding or as a false or suspended ceiling the latter feature is exceedingly important because in many cases this panel assembly is used where a high degree of accessibility to the spaces behind the assembly is required. For these spaces often all kinds of piping and wiring systems are accommodated as well as heating or cooling apparatus. The invention can also be used for wall cladding, awnings, canopies, etc.

The invention is characterized in that said holding means are formed by at least two support members integral with the carrier, at least one of which being embodied as a snap-looking member and each panel comprising one or more profiled portions to co-operate with the snap-locking members by snap action.

In using this invention it is possible to place the panels between the support members simply by pushing them just a little until the panel is fixed by snap-action.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention three support members are provided which are situated alternately at one and at the other side of the panel in question and are spaced apart viewed in the direction of insertion of the panel.

Such an embodiment makes it possible to keep the panel shape simple.

A particularly advantageous embodiment according to the invention, by which an aesthetic unit is obtained and the panels present a considerable stiffness is characterized in that at least one longitudinal marginal portion of each panel has a V-shaped continuous crosssectional profile which constitutes the profiled portion co-operating with the snap-locking member, said snaplocking member and the other support members being embodied as projections and said snap-locking member being constituted by the innermost support member, the carrier being formed from thin material, and the support members for each panel forming part of two projecting parts of the carrier, said projecting parts being situated in one plane and constituting the extension of one of the legs of a substantially U-shaped body. This embodiment constitutes a combination of a number of characteristics according to the invention.

Within the scope of the invention various variants may exist including variations of panel shapes. For instance a panel may be composed of a sheet-like central portion, the marginal profiled portions consisting of separate parts which in some manner may be coupled with the central portion.

A great number of materials are suitable for the panels as well as for the carriers, but it is preferred to use for both purposes pre-lacquered aluminum. As is commonly known, the advantage thereof is the economical and simple method of manufacture by rollforming. With such a selection of material and method of manufacture one obtains the considerable advantage that the various emboidments of the carrier according to the invention in other words the carrier constructed as one continuous unit for accommodating a large number of panels, or the carrier as a unit for one or a few panels, or the carrier as a separate part which cooperates with a continuous supporting beam and is movable, especially adjustable, with respect to said supporting beam may be manufactured in one production step. In all of these cases a continuous carrier is manufactured and the difference resides in cutting off the desired lengths according to requirements.

The invention will be further explained with reference to the accompanying drawings showing a plurality of embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 1 shows in perspective a partial top view of an embodiment of a ceiling according to the invention.

FIG. 2 shows a side view of a portion of a carrier and two panels in mounted condition.

FIG. 3 shows a left hand side view of the assembly according to FIG. 2.

FIGS. 4, 5, 6, 6a, 7 and 8 each show an embodiment of the invention by means of a schematic side view of a portion of a carrier with a panel.

The panel assembly according to the invention is designated in general with reference numeral 1 and comprises a plurality of spaced apart carriers which are provided with pairs of projecting parts 6 and 7. These projecting parts comprise a number of support members 8,9,10,12,13,l6,l7,18,2l,22,24, of which at least one support member 8,l7,l8,22 and 24 has a snap-locking arrangement. The snap-locking arrangement comprises a straight side and an opposite side having a recess. Each panel 3 comprises at least one profiled portion or indentation 4,1l,l5,l9,20,23 and 25 which upon insertion of the panel in question into the space 5 formed between the projecting parts 6 and 7 slides along the straight side of the snap-locking arrangement and subsequently at least a portion snaps into the recess behind the snap-locking member. Thus close to said profiled portion the panel is temporarily resiliently deformed and after the snapping action it resumes its original shape. The support members 9,10,l2,l3,l6,18, and 21 not serving as snap-locking members serve in addition to hold the panel. Preferably this is done tension-free, in other words such that the support members barely touch or barely do not touch the panel, but it is also completely within the scope of the invention to arrange the support members including the snap-locking members such that the various support members exert a slight pressure on the panel. In both cases the result is that the panel is held rattle free. As is clearly apparent from the drawings the assembling and disassembling of the panel is particularly simple. When being mounted the panel need only to be inserted into the accommodation space 5 between the two projecting parts 6 and 7 and to be pushed until the profiled portion in question snaps into place behind the snap-locking member. The disassembling of the panels is done by pulling the panels down in vertical direction so that the profiled portion in question is pulled out of the recess and across the snap-locking member.

The embodiments of FIGS. 2 and 5 distinguish themselves mainly by a different cross-sectional profile of the panels and a difference in the shape of the accommodation spaces 5 relating thereto. In particular the embodiment of the panel according to FIG. 2 presents considerable advantages since the V-shaped profile extending along the entire length of the panel renders said panel very rigid, and has a pleasing appearance while, moreover, it facilitates the snapping in and snapping out. It is preferred to provide both rim portions of the panel with said profile in opposite sense. In these two embodiments the other support members in addition to the snap-locking member are embodied as projections. In the embodiments according to FIG. 4, however, these support members 12 and 13 are formed as flat sides of the projecting parts 6 and 7 and on the other hand the profile 3 comprises profiled portions 14 in addition to the snap-in profiled portion 11. The profiled portions 14 support the panel against the support members 12 and 13. Also in this embodiment the profiled portions 14 as well as the profiled portions 11 are oppositely symmetrical. In the embodiment according to FIGS. 2, 4 and 5 the inner support members constitute the snap-locking members. In the embodiment according to FIG. 6, however, the snap-locking member 17 has a central support member bounded on either side at some distance by the support members 16 and 18. In FIG. 6a the panel 3 has a third profiled portion 20 to indicate the possibility of having two support members act as snap-locking members.

In FIGS. 7 and 8 the outer support members 22 and 24 are embodied as snap-locking members. The support member 21 and the support member 22 may in fact be regarded as one support member in which a recess for the snapping-in of the profiled portion 23 of the panel 3 is provided. The embodiment according to FIG. 8 differs from the preceding embodiments in that the profiled portion 25 snaps only partially behind the snap-locking member. As is apparent from the Fig. this is a consequence of the fact that the snap-locking member 24 engages with the recess of the profiled portion 25. Also such a co-operation between snap-locking member and profiled portion is entirely within the scope of the present invention.

The profiled portions of the panels according to the invention may be replaced by local deformations so that the considerable advantages of the simple assembling and disassembling and the aesthetical appearance are maintained. The drawback that the selection of the location of the carrier is dependent on the location of the profiled portions or indentations, or that the latter can only be provided after the location of the carrier is known can be overcome by forming such a local indentation simply and inexpensively on the spot.

FIG. 3 shows a side view of a carrier in the longitudinal direction. Said carrier is asymmetrical in crosssection. Without departing from the scope of the invention said carrier may, however, be of a difi'erently shaped section, such as for example a symmetrical U- or V-shape, or an L- or T-shape.

As shown in FIG. 1 the carriers may also be embodied as separate parts 26 made to carry only one or a small number of panels. These carrier parts 26 are arranged on a supporting beam 27 and are movable preferably slidable with respect to said beam so that consequently the distance between the panels or groups of panels carried by said carrier parts 26 is adjustable.

I claim:

l. A panel assembly for surfaces such as walls or ceilings, comprising:

a. a plurality of panels each panel comprising a substantially planar portion being elongated with a longitudinally extending profiled portion;

b. a plurality of carriers secureable to a surface to hold said panels with their substantially planar portion substantially normal to said surface, each carrier having panel holding means to provide three support contacts for each panel;

. said panel holding means comprising two outwardly extending support members defining a space therebetween having a central axis which extends outwardly between said support members and beyond the length of said support members, said space to receive an edge of a profiled panel, a first one of said support members comprising a snap-locking member projecting toward said axis, thereby comprising one of said three contacts, at least a portion of the second of said support members facing towards asid axis to contact a panel, thereby comprising a second of said three contacts, and one of said two support members additionally having another portion facing toward said axis to contact a panel, thereby comprising the third of said three contacts, said snap-locking member engaging the profiled portion of a panel and retaining the panel against movement outward from the panel holding means along the substantially common direction of the planar portion of said panel and the axis of said space, said snap-locking member and profiled portion adapted for disengaging upon the application to said panel of a force substantially greater than the weight of said panel and in said common direction.

2. The panel assembly of claim I wherein said two outwardly extending support members are of unequal length, and the contact of the shorter of the two support members contacts a panel between the other two of said three contacts.

3. The panel assembly of claim 1, in which the profiled portion of the panel as viewed in cross section is of continuous V-shape and is spaced from and parallel to one longitudinal edge of the panel.

4. The assembly of claim 1, in which said outwardly extending support members are of unequal length.

5. The assembly of claim 1, in which the end of said first support member projects toward and contacts said panel.

6. The panel assembly of claim 1, including a supporting beam for said carriers with each said carrier being a separate part for carrying at least one panel, said carriers being moveable in relation to said beam.

7. The panel assembly of claim 1, wherein said panel assembly is assembled on a ceiling, holding panels in a horizontal position, and holding the planar portion of said panel substantially normal to said ceiling wherein the snap-locking member engages the profiled portion of the panel and retains the panel against downward movement caused by the force of its own weight, said snap-locking member and profiled portion adapted to disengage upon the application of a greater downward force to the panel.

sates 

1. A panel assembly for surfaces such as walls or ceilings, comprising: a. a plurality of panels each panel comprising a substantially planar portion being elongated with a longitudinally extending profiled portion; b. a plurality of carriers secureable to a surface to hold said panels with their substantially planar portion substantially normal to said surface, each carrier having panel holding means to provide three support contacts for each panel; c. said panel holding means comprising two outwardly extending support members defining a space therebetween having a central axis which extends outwardly between said support memberS and beyond the length of said support members, said space to receive an edge of a profiled panel, a first one of said support members comprising a snap-locking member projecting toward said axis, thereby comprising one of said three contacts, at least a portion of the second of said support members facing towards asid axis to contact a panel, thereby comprising a second of said three contacts, and one of said two support members additionally having another portion facing toward said axis to contact a panel, thereby comprising the third of said three contacts, said snap-locking member engaging the profiled portion of a panel and retaining the panel against movement outward from the panel holding means along the substantially common direction of the planar portion of said panel and the axis of said space, said snap-locking member and profiled portion adapted for disengaging upon the application to said panel of a force substantially greater than the weight of said panel and in said common direction.
 2. The panel assembly of claim 1 wherein said two outwardly extending support members are of unequal length, and the contact of the shorter of the two support members contacts a panel between the other two of said three contacts.
 3. The panel assembly of claim 1, in which the profiled portion of the panel as viewed in cross section is of continuous V-shape and is spaced from and parallel to one longitudinal edge of the panel.
 4. The assembly of claim 1, in which said outwardly extending support members are of unequal length.
 5. The assembly of claim 1, in which the end of said first support member projects toward and contacts said panel.
 6. The panel assembly of claim 1, including a supporting beam for said carriers with each said carrier being a separate part for carrying at least one panel, said carriers being moveable in relation to said beam.
 7. The panel assembly of claim 1, wherein said panel assembly is assembled on a ceiling, holding panels in a horizontal position, and holding the planar portion of said panel substantially normal to said ceiling wherein the snap-locking member engages the profiled portion of the panel and retains the panel against downward movement caused by the force of its own weight, said snap-locking member and profiled portion adapted to disengage upon the application of a greater downward force to the panel. 